Speaking of the funniest joke in the world, put the German version (Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!) into google translate.
I too lift a glass to the memory of the great Welshman, but come on guys, please don't quote reams of Monty Python like internet stereotypes... It's just... Desperately sad...
Jones did some decent historical documentaries. His book and series "Barbarians" was about the peoples around the fringes of the Roman Empire, and tried to tell their story from their POV. His book "Erik the Viking" was fun, the film adaptation not so much.
You have to be very, very smart to be a great comedian.
I see no problem with remembering him for Python. That's how we over here, without access to the BEEB, got to know The Flying Circus on PBS.
Without Python, I might have missed a lovely documentary, "The Story of 1," about maths.
So, yes. I read about "Erik the Viking", et alia, in the obit, and I plan to check them out. But 12 year old me watched The Flying Circus on Sunday evenings with my mom if I'd been extra good. That's my great memory of the troupe even while I didn't get the jokes. I liked the giant foot in the opening.
That Oscar Wilde sketch - there's lots of high brow hiding in the low brow, and maybe the low brow isn't quite as low as people assert.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2020 12:44PM by Beth.